The month of October in Belgrade is reserved for the ’booklovers’, as this is the period of year when the most important literary event in the South East Europe and by far the most popular event in the region takes place. From October 22-29, the Belgrade Fair exhibition halls with the area of 30,000 sqm will host the 62th INTERNATIONAL BELGRADE BOOK FAIR, which will feature more than 450 Serbian and foreign participants, supported by a great number of visitors – and indeed, the number of 180,000 visitors was recorded last year.

The first book fair in former Yugoslavia was held long ago in 1956 in Zagreb, under the auspices of Josip Broz Tito. The following year, the fair was moved to Belgrade and placed under the roofs of the newly-built Belgrade Fair. Ever since, the fair has been held on the same location. The first book fair hosted 60 domestic and 36 foreign participants. The number of participants and visitors rose year after year, and over time, the Belgrade book fair earned the reputation of a highly respected event in Europe, a gathering place of publishers from all around the world. Today, the Belgrade book fair is ranked immediately below the fairs in Frankfurt and Warsaw, in terms of size and relevance, the most significant book fairs in Europe.

The official motto of this year’s event is ”Books have the key“, and the honorary guest-countries of 2017 Belgrade book fair are Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein and Switzerland. These countries will present around 1,000 different titles, 350 of which will be featured as a premiere. The book fair will be officially opened by the Austrian writer and publicist Karl Markus Gaus, and among other distinguished guests we will see the last year’s Nobel Prize laureate for literature – Herta Müller, a German writer with Romanian roots.

During eight days of Belgrade book fair, a number of different panel discussions, workshops and literary nights will be held and this famous event will thus justify its reputation of the place where not only publishers meet and offer their latest titles to the book audience in Belgrade. This fair is indeed the place where the prominent literary figures and ordinary people, the passionate booklovers, go hand in hand.

For all of the above, the month of October in Belgrade is quite justly considered the month of books and even though the grey and dim autumn and winter are just round the corner, the incoming days will be much brighter with the latest book titles, as the streets are filled with the smell of still unopened, freshly printed book covers. These days the visitors from all across the country, the region and the world head to Belgrade, longing to see, touch and feel the weight of the latest books and get to encounter the thousands of other faces equally engaged in the fantastic quest for the new favourite book.

If you are among those who are anxious to satisfy your passion for the art of writing in October, and you are planning to visit Belgrade especially for this cultural event, our recommendation is that you pick the accommodation located in Banovo brdo, whose location and the vicinity of Belgrade Fair is simply ideal for all booklovers who have set out to ‘pilgrimage’ under the roofs of the Belgrade Fair.